Originally Posted by
chaadster
I look at it from a diametrically opposed position: given what the camera actually does. As DCR concludes, the unit really only functions practically as an emergency recorder when used in conjuction with the newest Edge units. It’s functionally inoperable as an action cam. Based on the DCR cam comparison pics, it doesn’t seem like image stabilization is necessary for emergency recorder functionality, so the absence of image stabilization makes sense.
What I find disappointing is that Garmin couldn’t make it usuable action cam. Also disappointing that they’re charging $400 for an emergency recorder. Were it a $200 emergency recorder/light/radar without image stabilization, that’d work. Were it a $400 action cam/light/radar with image stabilization, that’d work. It’s neither of those two things, and that’s what’s most disappointing.
Personally, and speaking as an RTL515 user, I’d be happiest with just a simple, front or rear mountable, small form action cam. I don’t find the radar functionality of the Varia particularly useful, and would not buy that feature again. Taillamps are a dime a dozen, many with designs I greatly prefer over the Varia, so I can go either way on whether to integrate a light with a camera, but I think I’d prefer to have the units separate, particularly as a multi-bike user; I do more miles where I’m not interested in using an action cam than I do rides where I want to capture images, so not having to both remove a light/cam unit and replace a light unit would be simplfied by simply adding a cam as needed. I mean, I’ve never wanted for a light to integrated into my front mounted GoPro…. The Fly12 CE has it’s appeal, but it’s bulk and feature set is a trade-off on versatility.
It’s interesting that DCR mentioned the old Garmin VIRB action cam, because I thought that, if they could get the size and form factor right, that it could have been something nice for my needs. They got close with VIRB360, but bungled it by making it 360º cam. Had they offloaded the VIRB’s GPS functionality and left that to a connected head unit, they could’ve had a pretty compelling cam, I think.
I don't know that it's supposed to be an action cam - how much action going on behind you do you want to capture (that being said, my Cycliq Fly6 did film a wheel-touch and a cyclist going flying into the roadside undergrowth - no-one hurt, so kind of funny in retrospect). The lack of stabilization makes recording of tag numbers and other car details iffy, which defeats the purpose of the rear-view camera, IMO.
I bought a Gen2 Fly6 a few years back - I used it mainly for the decent strobe, although one time it proved useful following up on an SUV that intentionally buzzed the pace line - the cops followed up, but only because one the the riders memorized the tag# (NC cars have no front tags, so a rear-facing camera is useless in this regard). The Fly6 died after ~2 years - I replaced it with a Gen3 - smaller, but the trade-off is that the battery life is reduced. I get 4h of camera + daylight red LED flash - not long enough for many of my rides, so I end up carrying a small spare light in my jersey.
I bough the Varia mainly for the light and the battery life of 12-14h - the radar was a bonus, but I was skeptical of its usefulness, given I have a mirror and ears. However, a few rides sold me on it - I still use the mirror, just less often, and the ability to track multiple cars graphically is nothing short of amazing for a small consumer-grade box. I think it makes a far more useful attachment to my seat post than the camera, particularly considering the limited car-identification utility of rear cameras in NC. However, if Garmin or someone else came up with a more evolved combination cam-radar-strobe that wasn't quite so chunky and had decent run-time, I'd be all over it but, but this Garmin isn't it, alas.
Not sure what I'll do with the Fly3 - possibly repurpose it as a front camera - it's a pretty compact and well-evolved bike-cam (decent imaging, OK run-time, and straightforward incident capture and playback management), and I should get better run-time if I leave the red strobe off.
A while back I suggested to Cycliq that they build a white-strobe Fly6 as a compact front cam, given that I'm not interested in having a combination headlight-cam like the Fly12 (I want to be able to choose my own headlight), but they didn't bite.